California Lutheran University Information Literacy Curriculum Map Graduate Psychology Department Student Learning Outcomes Learning Outcome 1 LO1 literate student determines the nature and extent of the information needed. Learning Outcome 2 LO2 literate student accesses needed information effectively and efficiently. Learning Outcome 3 LO3 literate student evaluates information and its sources critically and incorporates selected information into his or her knowledge base and value system. Learning Outcome 4 LO4 literate student, individually or as a member of a group, uses information effectively to accomplish a specific purpose. Learning Outcome 5 LO5 literate student understands many of the economic, legal, and social issues surrounding the use of information and accesses and uses information ethically and legally. Graduate (500 Level Courses) LO1 literate student determines the nature and extent of the information needed. Defines and articulates the need for information. Outcomes Include: Identifies and articulates a topic of interest. Determines with psychology faculty whether research, diagnostics, practice guidelines, statistics, or other types of information are needed. Understands basic research methods and scholarly communication patterns in psychology necessary to select relevant resources. Understands basic research methods in psychology research, including research design, data analysis, and interpretation. Example: Distinguishes between an empirical study and a literature review. Understands the role of peer review in journal articles. Example: Understands the difference between a peer reviewed article and an article selected by an editor. Page 1
Understands the expanding role of the Web in scholarly communication for selecting appropriate Web sources. Understands the principles of privacy, confidentiality, and other ethical issues related to research methodology in psychology. Recognizes the difference between scholarly research and popular sources of information. Understands the costs and benefits of acquiring the needed information. Understands that scholarly material can be obtained beyond local library holdings. Example: Uses interlibrary loan. Defines a realistic overall plan and timeline to acquire and analyze the needed information. Consults with librarians before paying for information and recognizes that different institutions throughout the world offer different sources for fee-based information. LO2 literate student accesses needed information effectively and efficiently. Selects the most appropriate sources for accessing the needed information. Identifies and selects appropriate sources for locating relevant books. Identifies and selects appropriate article databases. Recognizes the difference between discipline-specific databases and aggregate databases when using library resources. Example: Identifies databases with significant content for psychology, such as PsycINFO and MEDLINE. Incorporates relevant Web search engines and government sources into scholarly research. Examples: Uses Google Scholar and PubMed. Knows and complies with local, state/provincial, and federal laws and institutional rules on access to information resources. Consults additional resources with cross-cultural, international, or interdisciplinary content when appropriate. Constructs and implements effectively-designed search strategies. Page 2
Uses appropriate psychological terminology for searching databases, recognizing the different effects of using keywords, synonyms, and controlled vocabulary from the database. Example: Uses online thesaurus in PsycINFO. Creates and uses effective search strategies in relevant databases using advanced search features, such as Boolean operators, truncation, and proximity searches. Example: Uses (adolescen* OR teen) AND episodic memory. Accesses and gathers data, and required information to make tentative diagnoses. Incorporate information from tests into diagnosing and treatment planning. Retrieves scholarly journals, books, and sources appropriate to the inquiry. Example: Understands how to retrieve online journal articles and how to locate journals in the periodical stacks. Seeks out knowledgeable individuals in the library and academic department as part of the search plan. Example: Makes appointment with the library psychology subject specialist. Assesses results to ascertain if there are information gaps and revises or expands search strategy as necessary. Effectively organizes and credits information sources. Identifies and systematically records all relevant citation information for future use. Examples: Utilizes vendor storage space on MyEBSCOhost ; Exports to EndNotes bibliographic manager. Outcomes Include: Identifies and systematically records all relevant citation information for future use. Examples: Utilizes vendor storage space on MyEBSCOhost ; Exports to EndNote bibliographic manager. Produces accurate citations and reference lists using the most current documentation style of the American Psychological Association. Demonstrates respect for intellectual property rights by accurately giving credit to the words and ideas of others. Page 3
PSYC 565 Research Practicum (R) Uses appropriate discipline-specific terminology for searching databases; recognizes the different effects of using free-text keywords, synonyms, and vocabulary from the database s own particular list of subject indexing terms. Constructs advanced search queries using Boolean operators, truncation and proximity commands (AND, OR, NOT, *, w/2) in order to enhance precision of the information retrieved. Develops expertise in using discipline-specific databases and the Scopus database for the literature research process. Uses the index of books to locate specific information in order to perform comprehensive research on a topic. Searches databases or printed sources in related fields such as business, public administration, political science or psychology, health sciences. Uses Web search engines such as Google Scholar critically and cautiously for scholarly research. Correctly uses library tools for searching locating full-text documents when unavailable in database. Appropriately uses interlibrary loan procedures. Finds full-text using 360 Link, E-journal lookup. Recognizes when to use ILL PSYC 565 Research Practicum (R) Page 4
LO 3 literate student evaluates information and its sources critically and incorporates selected information into his or her knowledge base and value system. Summarizes the main ideas to be extracted from the information gathered and synthesizes to construct new ideas. Outcomes Include: Selects the main ideas from resources and paraphrases or identifies verbatim material to be quoted. Recognizes interrelationships between research results and psychological theories and combines information to produce new ideas with supporting evidence. Example: Indicates that research supports or contradicts a psychological theory. Recognizes that existing information can be combined with original thought, and/or analysis to produce new information and insights into behavior and mental processing. Combines critical and creative thinking, implementing the scientific approach to solve problems related to behavior and mental processes. Outcomes Include: Examines and compares information from various sources in order to evaluate reliability, validity, accuracy, authority, timeliness, and point of view or bias. Example: Compares results from a traditional literature review and a meta-analysis. Recognizes the strengths and weaknesses of different research methods. Example: Understands the difference between quantitative and qualitative research. Understands the need to weigh the evidence and tolerate ambiguity. Understands what constitutes valid evidence and recognizes prejudice, deception, bias, or manipulation. Example: Understands how to recognize or apply the correct statistical tools for a problem. Recognizes, understands, and respects the complexity of socio-cultural and international diversity. Example: Compares the concept of intelligence cross-culturally. Understands the political and social issues of censorship and freedom of speech as they relate to psychological research. Example: Understands the political implications of research examining gender, ethnic, or racial differences. Compares new information with prior knowledge to determine its value, contradictions, or other unique characteristics. Page 5
Outcomes Include: Demonstrates familiarity with the relevant concepts, theoretical perspectives, empirical findings, and historic trends in psychology. Documents the information seeking process to explain and evaluate the new information gathered. Evaluates the information collected by comparing it with other sources and current theoretical knowledge; considering such things as the limitations of the research instruments and samples available for study. Example: Student interested in rural mental health care notices that most articles deal with urban mental health care. Draws conclusions based upon information gathered and integrates new information with previous information. Seeks expert opinion from instructor or other subject specialist to validate the research results and interpretation of the information. Extends information query based on new information when necessary. Example: Student expands search on therapeutic tools to include virtual reality therapy after finding a citation discussing this new area. Outlines future research suggested by new information. Evaluates information and its sources critically and incorporates selected information into his or her knowledge base and value system. LO 4 literate student, individually or as a member of a group, uses information effectively to accomplish a specific purpose. Organizes and integrate content, quotations, and paraphrases in a manner that supports the purposes and format of the product or presentation. Examples: Outlines, oral reports, drafts, uses presentation software Drafts a proposal for a research project applying research methods to a topic of interest Writes a comprehensive literature review on a subject that interprets trends and identifies gaps in the literature Page 6
Writes a scholarly paper suitable for publication in a peer-reviewed journal. Develops a comprehensive analysis no more than 20 pages and no fewer than 15 doublespaced, using APA Style on a theory that they are considering using as their theoretical orientation. Uses a citation management system such as EndNote for organizing and managing citations, recording all pertinent citation information for future reference. Forms a working diagnosis, the goal of which is to organize the obtained information into an accurate multiaxial diagnosis. PSYC 565 Research Practicum (R) LO5 literate student understands many of the economic, legal, and social issues surrounding the use of information and accesses and uses information ethically and legally. Identifies issues related to free vs. fee-based access to information in order to make informed decisions on the selection of information resources Paraphrases information and appropriately applies parenthetical documentation in order to avoid plagiarism. Uses APA or approved style to cite the source of information presented in a paper. Correctly cites an article retrieved from an aggregated database. Correctly cites an Internet Articles Based on a Print Source. Conducts interviews and surveys in a legal and ethical manner and receives permission from the university s human subjects research committee. PSYC 520 Law & Ethics (I) PSYC 565 Research Practicum (R) Applies professional standards and ethical principles in making decision in the therapeutic setting. Page 7
Demonstrates an understanding of institutional policies related to human subjects research, including access to subjects, informed consent, and institutional review board requirements. PSYC 520 Law & Ethics (I) PSYC 565 Research Practicum (R) Students will discuss the ethical use of psychological tests. PSYC 550 Survey of Psychological Testing (I) I= Competency introduced R=Competency reinforced Page 8